Mental health and substance abuse services service path

When you need help with problems related to mental wellbeing, fill in the Therapy Navigator before contacting us. The assessment of your need for care and your access to care will be quicker if you have already completed the Therapy Navigator. You may be concerned about matters such as anxiety, a decline in your mood, sleeplessness, or you would like to have support with coping. Go to the following address online:  www.terapianavigaattori.fi(external link) and fill in the survey on the website.

During the initial contact, the nurse will ask you different questions about your mood, substance use, possible self-harm, lifestyle, social relationships and coping with daily life. A mental health and substance abuse professional will conduct an assessment of your need for treatment together with you and, if necessary, provide advice and guidance and answer any urgent questions.

If it emerges during the initial contact that your treatment requires more specific planning, a new appointment will be made for you. The professional may also tell you about the different forms of treatment in mental health and substance abuse services.

At the beginning of your treatment, it is important that you receive the necessary information about the symptoms you experience as well as their effect on your daily life and your relationships with people.  Increased understanding helps you to find concrete ways that may enable you to change matters. For example, discuss the following matters with the professional:

• What do the symptoms mean at a general level?
• What may be causing the symptoms?
• How can you manage or deal with the situation in your daily life?

Our tool is guided self-help, in which we use therapy programmes from the online content of MentalHub.fi: www.mielenterveystalo.fi(external link).

You can meet the nurse via remote contacts, on site or you can participate in group-based guided self-help.

In the video below, psychologist Pasi Roslund talks more about the benefits of guided self-help.  

 

The treatment in the initial phase already brings about desired changes in the life situation of many people and their functional capacity improves. After the initial phase, your situation will be assessed together with a professional. If the initial treatment has not provided sufficient help, you and the nurse will together plan further treatment that is suitable for you. The nurse will tell you in more detail about the different treatment options and the conditions for access to treatment.

Our options for further treatment are online therapy and a brief therapy intervention.

After the treatment, you will be able to manage your symptoms and function in varying everyday situations.

In the last meeting with you, we discuss what you will do when the treatment ends. If the means you have learned for managing the symptoms are not sufficient, your need for treatment will be reassessed.

You have the opportunity to use services provided by different NGOs. In Western Uusimaa, several organizations operate that offer support for mental well-being through meaningful activities and peer support. See contact information here: Mental health and substance abuse organizations by municipality.